The start date for the Conclave to elect a successor to the late Pope Francis was announced by the Vatican on Monday.
Wednesday, May 7th, will be confirmed as the starting point for the ritual’s public election, and will determine Francis’ success after 12 years of the Pope.
It will be held at the Sistine Chapel in the Apostles Palace in the Vatican City.
AP Report Conclave’s date was the head of the Cardinals’ agenda, which will host an informal meeting to hash out church business after Pope Francis’ April 21 death.
They refrained from announcing the opening of the Conclave until the Associated Press appeared in that report after the funeral was held on Saturday.
The Vatican said more than 180 people attended the fifth informal conference in Rome on Monday, with a small group of 135 known as the Cardinal of University being eligible to elect a new pope.
Only Cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote, and it is not clear how many out of the 135 will participate.
File/Italia, 1903, Vatican Conclave, 4 August 1903, Cardinals gathered at the Sistine Chapel for the election of the successor to Leo XIII (Leone XIII). (Photo12/uig/getty Images)
Communication with the outside world is not permitted during the process. The vote itself was secret, introduced in 1621 by Gregory XV, and attempted to avoid the obvious politics.
The term conclave comes from a Latin phrase Cum Cravemeans “with keys.”
The succession of the Pope has evolved considerably, as the early churches and current rules of this procedure were not codified until the early 20th century.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
